Unity Through Chaos
by cubemaster
Summary: The search for the Chaos Emeralds unites villains from Eggman to King Dedede and heroes from Mario to Sonic. Which side will end up victorious?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/places/things used in my story. Thank you.

Prologue: The Big Five

Dr. Eggman smiled at the group of baddies assembled before him. The best of the best had answered his call for an alliance, and the gathered villains would be a mighty force indeed, if they worked together as planned.

"What do you want?" asked Bowser, the first to speak to the entire crowd. "I'm a very busy Koopa."

"I'm a bit interested myself," King Dedede chimed in. "What the heck is goin' on?"

Eggman smirked as he raised up his arms in a gesture of greeting. "My friends, today is the day that we will have our chance to take the world back from the heroes that so frequently stand in our ways."

"Donkey Kong..." King K. Rool muttered to the Kremlings around him.

Ganondorf, who was sitting partially away from the group, surveyed the mark on the back of his hand before turning back to the group.

"The five of us are what I like to refer to as the Big Five," Eggman continued. "We are the most influential and powerful bad guys around, and I think it's time we united to achieve a single goal."

"World domination?" Bowser asked.

"More than just that. We finally have a chance to take back our dignity from the idiotic heroes that stole it from us. Together, the four of us can build together an army of villains and take the Chaos Emeralds and use them to vanquish the heroes."

"Chaos Emeralds?" Dedede inquired, eyes twinkling. "And what are those?"

"Powerful stones with mystical properties," Bowser interjected. "I've had my eyes on them for years, but I've never gotten the chance to go after them myself."

"I've held them in my hands several times, yet Sonic the Hedgehog always manages to take them from me," Eggman growled. "But this time, with your help, will be different. Mark my words!"

"This could work out nicely for all of us," Ganondorf added, and the group turned to him. "The Chaos Emeralds are just the beginning. They could serve as stepping stones to even greater powers."

"I'm likin' this more and more with every minute," Dedede cackled. "Count me in."

"Me as well," K. Rool said, nodding his head. "Where do we strike first?"

"I located the first Chaos Emerald in the castle of a certain Princess Peach," Eggman said, looking pointedly at Bowser. "You get your revenge first."

"Excellent," Bowser growled giddily. "Let's ready the soldiers and attack."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: First Contact

Mario was walking around the garden of Peach's Castle when Yoshi came running up with Luigi on his back. Leaping off, Luigi shouted the news, "There's an army heading this way!"

"Wha?!?" Mario exclaimed, then snapped to attention. Now focused, he began running towards the castle with Luigi and Yoshi in tow.

Before they could reach it, dark forms filled the sky. The three stopped, looking up in shock at the large ships above them.

-----------------------

"There's Mario," Dedede said, pointing down from the ship in Eggman's fleet (from Sonic Heroes) that he was on. Ganondorf and Eggman stood alongside him, and Eggman couldn't help but smirk.

"Those fools can't do anything to stop us!" he laughed. "We're going to get the Chaos Emerald and be that much closer to world domination."

----------------------

Inside of the castle, Peach was admiring the new necklace Mario had just brought her. The highlight of it was a beautiful stone. The peddler that sold it to Mario claimed it held great powers, so Peach was careful with it.

As she placed it around her neck, the door to her room burst open. Toadsworth, frantically waving his arms, ran into her room. "We're under attack!" he cried. "We must get you to safety Princess!"

"Bowser again?" Peach asked wearily. "That's the third time this week."

"Not just him!" Toadsworth exclaimed, pausing to catch his breath. "He's not working alone this time, there are ships in the sky and everything!"

Peach looked out the window, viewing the ships in the sky. Turning back to Toadsworth, she simply asked, "Where's Mario?"

-------------------

Eggman's robots rained from the sky, surrounded Mario and his comrades. "Mama mia!" Mario shouted as the robots started the assault.

"Yoshi!" Yoshi squelled, flying into the air and ground pounding the nearest robot into oblivion.

Meanwhile, Mario jumped from robot to robot, knocking them down and causing them to drop their shields. Without shields, the bots were vulnerable to the green fireballs that Luigi launched from his hands.

The three worked together, but no matter how many robots they took down, more fell to take their place. "Mama mia!" Mario cried again as the advancing robots pushed the three away from the castle.

------------------

"Come on Princess, we've got to hurry!" Toadsworth urged. Peach and Toadsworth were running down a hallway in the castle surrounded by Toad guards. "Once we get you to safety..." His words were cut off as the wall exploded beside them.

Koopas flooded through the gaping hole, surrounding the princess and her companions. "Oh no!" Peach cried out and Bowser appeared before them.

"There's my prize," Bowser cackled, waving his men forward. "Take out the guards. The princess is mine!" The Koopas surged forward, and Bowser grabbed Peach, knocking Toadsworth to the ground.

"Let's go!" he commanded as he tore out of the castle. "We've got what we need!" But before he could get across the grounds to the ship waiting for him, a dark figure appeared in front of him. "Are you that Sonic character Eggman's been going on and on about?"

"No," the black hedgehog said, launching himself at the Koopa King and his prize. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Prepare to be fried!" Bowser laughed, tossing Peach aside and letting out a jet of fire. Shadow side-stepped the attack, jumping up and kicking Bowser in the face.

As the bad guy stumbled, Shadow grabbed Peach. With a last glance at Bowser, he exclaimed, "Chaos control!" and disappeared with a flash of light.

-----------------------

The robots suddenly stopped the onslaught, and began running away from the nearly defeated heroes. "Wha?!?" Mario asked as the ships began to fly away. "Peach!" he exclaimed, darting towards the castle.

"Wait for me!" Luigi cried, running after with Yoshi by his side.

The three entered the castle to find things in disarray. Toads were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and in the middle of the madness, Toadsworth sat on the floor with his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Mario asked. "Where's the princess?"

"Bowser tried to kidnap her again," Toadsworth sobbed. "But then, a black hedgehog appeared and stole her from Bowser. They disappeared in a big flash and... I don't know what to do!"

"Mama mia, we've got to find out who this hedgehog is!" Mario exclaimed.

A new voice chimed in from the door. "We can help you with that." Everyone turned to the newcomer, and there stood a blue hedgehog with a two-tailed fox by his side. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and this is my best pal, Tails."

"If what you're saying is true, then we know who took the princess," Tails said. "Shadow the Hedgehog. But we've got bigger problems."

"What would those be?" Luigi asked.

"Eggman's got a bunch of baddies together and their up to something big," Sonic replied. "That's who just attacked."

"So Bowser must be working with him..." Toadsworth concluded. "But where is Shadow going to take Princess Peach?"

"They don't care about the princess," Tails answered. "She must have a Chaos Emerald."

"The necklace!" Mario exclaimed. "Ahhh! This is all my fault."

---------------

"This is all your fault," Eggman screamed at Bowser. "You messed everything up!"

"You didn't warn me that there'd be a hedgehog in the mix!" Bowser countered. "If this is anyone's fault, it's your's for not being prepared."

"I was prepared for a hedgehog, but not that one," admitted Eggman. "Now we've got to revise our plans a bit. K. Rool is preparing to invade Kong Island as we speak. You can make up for your errors there."

"Right, right," Bowser muttered, walking out of the room. As soon as the Koopa was gone, Ganondorf appeared from the shadows.

"What do you think he's good for?" Ganondorf asked. "Don't say we need his followers, because you've got your robots, K. Rool's got his Gremlings and Dedede's got his Waddle Dees. Why must we keep him on our side?"

Eggman snorted, turning to Ganondorf. "He's had his moments in the past. The main reason I got him was to deal with Mario, who I had a sneaking suspicion would wind up in the middle of this. As idiotic as he is, Bowser knows all about Mario and can help us combat him."

"I can handle him," Ganondorf countered. "Bowser's useless to us."

"We need him for my plans to work," Eggman chortled. "Just leave everything to me, and it will all be taken care of. Don't worry about it." Nodding unconvincingly, Ganondorf too left the room, leaving Eggman alone with his thoughts.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Machinations

The sun shone on the island Donkey Kong called home as he and Diddy Kong lay out on the beach soaking in the rays. "Peaceful," Diddy commented. "I wish it were like this every day."

DK nodded in silent agreement, watching the dolphins jump around in the water. Standing up, he decided to join the aquatic animals in their play, motioning for Diddy to come with him. But before they could reach the water, the dolphins looked startled and disappeared.

"What's going on?" Diddy asked, but before DK could come up with a response, an iron form arose from the water.

A giant mechanical crocodile appeared before them, a crown upon its head. "K. Rool!" DK shouted as the machine stood up on two legs.

"We've got to warn everyone!" shouted Diddy as the crocodile opened it's mouth. A large cannon appeared in the opening, and as the two watched in awe, a blast erupted from it. The primates were thrown into the water as the island exploded behind them.

"W-where are we?" Peach gasped, looking around the room. She turned around and noticed windows along the wall. The view was astonishing; Earth lay before her.

Focused on the Chaos Emerald in his hand, Shadow offhandidly answered, "The Space Colony Ark. The one place I feel at home. It's from here that I will change the world."

"Change the world? What are you talking about?"

Shadow looked up from the Chaos Emerald, and the princess took a step back. "Lots of questions. I've finally had enough of the humans on Earth. It is time that they took a hard look at themselves and realized what miserable wretches they've become."

"Who are you to judge an entire race?!?" Peach shot back angrily. "You have no right to condemn them because you don't deem them worthy."

Shadow looked back to the Chaos Emerald in his hand, then back up to Peach. "Don't question me. You have been offered a chance of redemption by joining me here, Maria." His eyes widened as Peach looked at him questionably.

"Maria?" she asked. It was too late, he was already gone.

Bowser angrily charged into Eggman's quarters, flanked by Koopas. "K. Rool's already gotten the Chaos Emerald!" he barked. "And he's heading back here."

"I thought there was a problem," Eggman said, rising from the desk where he was pouring over maps of places that Bowser didn't recognize. "This sounds like good news to me."

"You told me I was going to be critical to the invasion of Kong Island!"

"My exact words were 'You can make up for your errors there.' I said nothing about you being critical," Eggman countered.

"But I didn't get my chance to prove my worth!" Bowser pouted. "Now I'll probably get stuck ruling some stupid place when we take over the world."

"You wouldn't have anywhere to rule without me!" Eggman roared. "Accept my brilliance and move on!" Bowser huffed and left the room without another word.

"About time you acted against him," Ganondorf said, appeared at Eggman's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Eggman asked, more than a little startled. "Are you always in the shadows?"

"More importantly, why are you wasting your time on second tier villains like Bowser? There are plenty of bigger baddies out there," Ganondorf asked without answering Eggman's inquiries.

"I've already explained the situation to you," Eggman muttered, sinking back into his chair and putting his head in his hands. "We need him."

"What about after we get the Chaos Emeralds? What then?" For that, Eggman had no answer.

King Dedede, tired of how Eggman was running the show, smiled as his own plans came to fruition. He looked around the storage room he was hiding in, waiting for his ally. Then the form appeared, startling Dedede.

Recomposing himself, he addressed the figure. "It took you long enough Meta Knight!"

"I had a long way to go," Meta Knight replied. "But it's been done. I hired some mercenaries to take out Mario and his friends. Meanwhile, we've got other issues."

"Issues?" Dedede asked. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Kirby followed me back to the planet. I managed to blast down his Warp Star, and he crashlanded somewhere."

Dedede freaked out upon hearing his comrades report. "Wha'?!? How could you let that happen?!?!? I expected better!"

"Don't worry, I'll personally deal with him," Meta Knight said, turning to leave.

"Make sure he's _permanently _dealt with," Dedede said. After a short pause, Meta Knight's cape was replaced by wings and he flew out of an open window.

"Carter? Do you think he's okay?" a voice asked in the darkness.

"I don't know, Flora. I think we'd better get him back to Forget-Me-Not-Village and let Doctor Hardy have a look at him," another voice answered. "But I've never seen anything like him before."

Kirby's eyes fluttered open, and he jumped up, looking around where he was. "Piyo?" he asked. He was being surveyed by two similiarly dressed people.

"Are you okay?" the man asked slowly. Kirby quickly nodded, and the woman let out a sigh of relief. "You can call me Carter, this is my assistant, Flora. What's your name?"

"Kirby!" Kirby chirped, suddenly realizing what he had witnessed lightyears away. "Piyo piyo!" he exclaimed, flapping his arms.

"Let's hurry and get him to the doctor," Flora said, taking Kirby's arm. "Come with us."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Wolf and His Prey

The central control room of the Ark offered a haven for Shadow to reflect over his actions, and the harsh words from Peach. Who was he to judge the inhabitants of Earth?

"I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform!" he exclaimed to the empty chamber, but his words weren't convincing to himself or the darkness. Ignoring this, he typed into the computer before him.

"Next Chaos Emerald located," it chimed, and a map appeared with a moving dot on it. "Moving through the ocean at about 50 miles an hour."

"How is that possible?" Shadow asked, then he realized it must be in some sort of aquatic vehicle. Hoping for the best, he pulled out his other emerald. "Chaos control!" And he was gone.

"Is he going to be okay, Doctor Hardy?" Flora asked the bizarre resident doctor of Forget-Me-Not-Village.

"He should be fine," the doctor replied, looking at the faces around him. "I don't know who he is, or what he is for that matter, but he'll live."

"Piyo..." Kirby muttered. The doctor's treatments had an unexpected side effect on the pink Star Warrior. He couldn't remember what he was supposed to be warning anyone about.

"I've got an idea," Wally, the town's excercise guru, said. "He can work on Jack's farm since he's got nothing better to do!" Kirby nodded in agreement just as the farmer and his helper, Takakura, walked in.

"You really think he can work on my farm, the Harvest Moon Ranch?" Jack asked.

"Your father used to have old ranch hands a long time ago," Takakura commented. "I think it could really behoove you to let this one work for you."

"Alright, you're hired!" Jack exclaimed, and Kirby jumped for joy.

"I'll be to Yoshi's Island within another hour," K. Rool said to a screen with Eggman's face on it. "Then, I'll be able to seize control of another Chaos Emerald."

"Excellent. And you've eliminated Donkey Kong and his friends, correct?" Eggman inquired.

"DK and Diddy Kong are goners," K. Rool answered, but his face betrayed something else.

"What about the rest of them?" Eggman pressed. "Don't tell me you kept them!"

Angrily folding up his arms, K. Rool asked, "And why shouldn't I be allowed to keep them? Should DK have, God forbid, survived, I want to have leverage ready just in case."

"That wasn't part of my plan."

"But it's part of mine." The tension between the two was visible, and K. Rool moved to end the conversation. "I'll speak with you again when the third Chaos Emerald is mine." He quickly switched off the screen, and rested his head on one of his hands.

The Tornado flew through the sky above shining blue water. "This can't be right," Tails said as he surveyed his equipment.

"What's-a wrong?" Mario asked from the seat behind him. As if sensing trouble inside the cockpit, Sonic looked in from his perch on the wing.

"The Chaos Emerald... It's moving."

"Wha?!?!?"

The three heroes were on their way to secure another Chaos Emerald. Luigi and Yoshi were left in Mushroom Kingdom, building together an army of Toads while rebuilding what had been destroyed in the villains' attack.

"Looks like someone else got to it first. But that's not the only problem. If my readings are correct, then it is under the water."

Before Tails could expound upon his discovery any further, the Tornado was hit by unidentified laser fire, nearly causing the fox to lose control.

"We're under attack!" he yelled. "Hold on Mario, I'm taking evasive manuevers!"

Star Wolf smirked in the cockpilot of his starfighter. Having just come from the events of Starfox 64, he was without a team and anxious to get some payment. What better way to do that than by taking out some weaklings on a backwater planet called Earth?

He laughed as the plane before him veered, frantically trying to avoid his onslaught. "Fools," he muttered, slightly amused. They weren't nearly up to Fox's par.

Suddenly, the blue hedgehog on the wing jumped off of the aircraft. Caught offguard, Star Wolf wasn't able to steer out of the way of his trajectory as the hedgehog landed on his wing.

Cursing his luck, Star Wolf barrel-rolled, but the hedgehog clung on like his life depended on it. And it did, because the minute he got the animal off, Star Wolf was planning to obliderate it.

Distracted by his furry foe, the wolf was again surprised as the plane began to open fire on him. Growling, he returned fire, missing the cockpit by mere inches. "I guess I underestimated them," he admitted to himself as the hedgehog tore off one of his wings.

DK's eyes shot open, and he was startled to find himself surrounded by a flock of Yoshis. Confused and disoriented, he realized that he wasn't on his home island any more. He was on Yoshi Island.

"Diddy?" he asked, but the Yoshis around him merely shook their heads with regret. Letting out a roar of anger and grief, DK fell to the ground pounding his chest.

Shadow smirked as he glided through the halls of K. Rool's mechanical behemoth. Having faced off against a host of Kremlings already, he was glad he didn't have to deal with anymore of the lousy lackies.

Explosions sounded off around him. Orange grenades were being thrown at him by the new group of Kremlings that rushed into the corridor.

Flipping through the air, his foot connected with the face of the first large Kremling in line. It buckled under the force of the blow, and Shadow bounced off of him into the next of the foes.

This one was smarter than Shadow had anticipated, and threw a grenade at him that he wasn't prepared to deal with. The blast caught the hedgehog unawares, and he was sent tumbling to the ground.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Imprisoned

Shadow's eyes shot open, and he sat up in the prison where he was kept. He looked around, spotting three other figures in the dungeon.

"Chunky Kong! Lanky Kong! He's awake!" the smallest of the three said, awakening the two sleep forms beside her. The hedgehog eyed the three kongs as they looked questioningly at him.

"Who is he, Tiny Kong?" the largest, whom Shadow decided must be Chunky, asked.

"Never seen anything like him," the other, Lanky Kong, said.

"My name's Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow explained, standing up. "I'm here to find the Chaos Emerald."

The kongs looked at each other in confusion. "Never heard of it," Chunky said. "We don't know about no Chaos Emerald."

"With your help, we might be able to escape!" Tiny interjected. "Can you help us?"

Shadow reached for his Chaos Emerald, intent upon using it to release himself from the prison and leave its annoying tenants. But the Emerald was nowhere to be found, and he cursed as he realized it must've been taken from him.

K. Rool couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he taken the Chaos Emerald and the Kongs, but now he managed to score the first lost Emerald from a surprise visitor on his way to secure the third.

As Eggman appeared on the screen before him again, he noticed that the doctor looked more annoyed than anything. "What is it?" he asked pointedly. "I'm a very busy man and..."

Unable to control himself, K. Rool blurted out the news. "I've gotten another Chaos Emerald!"

Eggman, looking surprised, asked, "You've already reached Yoshi's Island?"

"Even better," K. Rool replied. "I managed to get back the one that Bowser had already lost."

Star Wolf couldn't believe the twist in his plans. Now he was the one having to make evasive manuevers.

With one of his four wings gone (two on each side in a "V" shape), he was having a tougher time controlling his ship, and the hedgehog was already working on the next wing on that side. If both were gone, control would be impossible.

His mind raced, looking for a solution. The only possible course of action hit him, and he was ready to take the risk for the chance at the huge payoff he was promised for the death of his prey.

Less than an hour after being diagnosed, Jack was settling Kirby in at his farm. He unlocked the shed on his property that generally remained locked, and showed his new pink comrade the furniture inside.

"Takakura said the old farm hands used to stay in here," he shared. "Now you can live here."

"Piyo!" Kirby exclaimed, immediately proceeding to jump on the bed within. "Piyo! Piyo!"

Jack laughed at Kirby's reaction. "I thought you'd like it. Now, come with me and I'll introduce you to all of the townspeople that you didn't see before."

Before the two could set off, Takakura appeared at the door. "Kirby's not the only unexplained visitor anymore. A monkey just washed up on the beach." Kirby and Jack looked at each other in disbelief and followed him out the door.

After questioning the kongs about their specific strengths and weaknesses, Shadow formulated a plan in his head that just might work.

He wasn't used to being the brains of the operation; he was usually manipulated or just going on a rampage. But now he needed to use strategy to escape and track down the Chaos Emeralds.

"Go now," he urged Tiny, who quickly shrunk down as small as she could. "Now, Chunky, make your mark on this place."

Pointing at the small ventilation shaft in the cell, Shadow directed Chunky to knock the metal grate off. As soon as it was gone, Tiny went into the shaft, as per the plans of the black hedgehog.

"Once she shuts down the power, we'll be able to get out easily," Shadow explained to the remaining kongs. "Then, we can retrieve the Chaos Emeralds and blow this joint. Literally."

Inching his ship closer to the surface of the water, Star Wolf was smirking as his plan came to fruition. "Time to get rid of my unwanted visitor," he said, confidence once again returning.

The wing of his ship hit the water with a splash, and his unwanted guest was thrown into the water. "Just as planned," he laughed, lifting up from the surface and backflipping to get the plane in his sight.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted as he watched his friend get swept into the water. "We've got to save him!"

"What about-ah us?" Mario asked as their assailant was now free to focus on the Tornado without any distractions.

"I don't know what we can do," Tails said. "Without Sonic, I have no idea what to do!"

"We've gotta do-ah somethin'!" exclaimed Mario. "You can't depend-a on someone else!"

"He's never let me down before! I've got to save him!" While Tails was distracted, their attacker opened fire. As the engine exploded behind them, Tails grabbed Mario and flew out of the cockpit.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Collision Course

The townspeople gathered around as Diddy Kong's eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around in bewilderment.

"Forget-Me-Not Village," said Jack. "Where are you from?"

Diddy Kong lifted himself up, looking around the room he was in. "Sorry my house is such a mess," Doctor Hardy said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"My name's Diddy Kong and I'm fine," Diddy answered, and his head drooped as he remember the fate of DK and his home. "I'm afraid the place I come from is gone."

"You're more than welcome to stay here," Jack said. The rest of the townspeople murmured in agreement. "Actually, you can come work on my farm with another new visitor of our's, Kirby."

"Piyo!" Kirby said cheerfully, and everyone laughed.

Everyone that is, except for the person in the far corner of the room. Daryl the scientist was still looking over the two new arrivals, carefully noting their pecularities in his mind.

"Now I just have to get them alone to experiment on them," he giggled to himself. "Mukumuku may be out of my reach, but these two aren't!"

After speaking with Eggman, K. Rool sat admiring the two Chaos Emeralds that he had managed to capture. He gingerly petted them, smiling at his reflection in the stones.

"Things are going so perfectly," he said giddily, laughing to himself. As the lights shut off around him, he realized that he had spoken too soon.

"Perfect, she's down her job," Shadow noted as the energy barrier on the door disappeared, leaving only the bars. He pointed to the keys that were a short distance away. "Lanky, you should be able to reach those and release us."

"What about the Kremling guards?" Chunky asked, pointing to the Kremlings that were by the door out of the prison, looking around in confusion.

Smirking, Shadow answered, "Leave that to me."

K. Rool was furious, yelling at any Kremling any round. "Use the manual controls and get us back to the surface!" he roared. "Then find the problem and FIX IT!" His men saluted and ran off to fix the problems, and he sunk into his seat with his head in his hands.

Tails hovered slightly above the water, tightly gripping Mario's arm. Thinking that its prey had been eliminated, the enemy ship had flown off without checking for survivors. Tails wasn't complaining; right now he was focusing on finding his best friend.

"Sonic!" he shouted. "Sonic! Can you hear me?" As if in response to his question, the hedgehog burst out of the water, dogpaddling in place.

"I'm glad to see you guys okay!" Sonic exclaimed. "Now we gotta get outta here!"

"Hows-a are we gonna do that?" Mario asked. "We're stuck out-a here!"

Suddenly, Tails gasped as he spotted a large dark form in the water. "Sonic! There's something under you!" Sonic looked down right as a giant mechanical alligator surfaced.

After disposing of the guards, Shadow motioned for Chunky and Lanky to follow. "What about Tiny?" Chunky asked, pausing and looking back.

"She'll catch up," Shadow replied. "But we've got to go right now and get the Chaos Emeralds."

"You still haven't explained what those do," Lanky said. "Why do you care about it so much?"

"Don't question me," growled Shadow. Why weren't these fools as blindly obedient as he once was. It frustrated him greatly, but he didn't want to let it show. "We've got to work together if we're all going to get out alive. Then I'll offer the three of you protection from the coming tribulation."

Glancing at each other, the two kongs reluctantly followed as Shadow set off into the depths of the mechanical monstrousity.

Meta Knight stood on the bridge of the Halbert, looking at the army of knights he had gathered. "I've finally located Kirby," he announced to the assembly. "A small town called Forget-Me-Not-Village. We are going to engage and take out any hostiles."

"What about the infrastructure and the bystanders?" a knight asked.

"Attack anyone that tries to protect Kirby and destroy anything that gets in your path. Understand?" The knights shouted in agreement, and Meta Knight held up his sword. "Then let us take Kirby and then take the world!"

Bowser, Dedede and Ganondorf stood before Eggman. "What is it now?" Bowser asked.

"We've located the fourth Chaos Emerald," Eggman explained. "It's in a place called Forget-Me-Not Village." Dedede's eyes shot wide open, and Eggman looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"

"N-n-nothing!" Dedede responded. Inside, he was jumping for joy. This was his chance to have Meta Knight seize the Chaos Emerald before the rest of the Big Five even got there!

"I'll mobilize my forces immediately," Bowser said, turning quickly in an attempt to avoid protest.

Ganondorf was too quick for him. "You've had your chance and failed. I think that Dedede should go in with his men since he looked so interested in the village."

"That's alright, Bowser can go," Dedede interrupted, realizing that Bowser would be the prime suspect if he was leading the operation where the Chaos Emerald was never retrieved. "This'll be his chance to redeem himself."

"Fine," Eggman grumbled. "Bowser, this'll be your shot at redemption. Just don't mess it up, okay?"

"Don't worry about that," Bowser responded. As he left the room, his maniacal laughing echoed through the halls.

"What was that all about?" Ganondorf asked threateningly, pointing at Eggman. "He's had his shot and blown it. That fool shouldn't be allowed to lead any other operations."

"Now, now, we're a team," interjected Dedede, still trying to cover his own machinations. "If Bowser wants to do it, then more power to 'im."

"We'll see about that," Ganondorf huffed, disappearing into the shadows.

Tiny returned to the cell, shocked to find that the others had already left. Before she had time to gather her thoughts, Kremlings burst into the room. "Hey, there's still one left!" they said, pouncing on her.

Shrinking down, she managed to slip through the unorganized attempt to capture her. Slipping through the other Kremlings, she managed to find her way into a large hallway.

The sounds of explosions caught her attention. "They must be that way!" she decided, dashing down the hall towards the source of the noise.


End file.
